Monday, 19 June 2017

Dos and Don’ts of Mobile Video Conferencing

Advanced cloud-based platforms have brought mobility to video conferencing. Now, you don’t have to remain confined either to your desktop or conference room to collaborate with your teams. All you need is a smart mobile device with a browser and camera, and you are hinged with any business collaboration from anywhere in the world. Mobility has not only changed our communication behavior, but has had a deep impact on the way business is conducted in these times of ever-evolving technology. Now businesses across the world manage and do much more with lesser human input or cost through audio video conferencing irrespective of number of employees a company holds, location of its offices or industry. Mobile video conferencing also helps in fostering better team and customer relationships via personal face-to-face interactions. However, these benefits of the technology also come with certain precautions which if not observed, may mar your and your business’s image.

Dos and Don’ts of Mobile Video Conferencing

The following are a few dos and don’ts that professionals should be mindful of when undertaking a mobile video conference with the team members, clients, customers, etc.

Dos

1. Always mount your mobile device on a stable stand before you start video conferencing. Keeping your mobile device in hand results in shaky video that distracts other participants. Also, do check the camera angle. It should always be pointing towards your face and some portion of your shoulders. Wrong camera angle, either a bit low or high, will result in a no engaging conversation.

2. Always ensure that your background for the video call is neat and uncluttered. Switch on the camera and check how the background would appear to other participants during a video call. Any clutter in the background would result in distraction for others seeing you on their screens.

3. Always make sure that your software is updated and is functioning well with all input and output streams. In many cases, we download the software on our desktops but forget to download or update the requisite software on our mobile devices. The software should also be checked for its compatibility and syncing with other components like camera, microphone, volume switches, control button, etc.

4. Ensure that you have turned off all notifications, like text messages, social media updates and chats, before the video conference. It is distracting and sometimes embarrassing when your personal messages pop-up during a business call.

5. Always turn off any software or updates that may conflict with your mobile video conferencing software. Turning off background software/applications also helps in freeing up the broadband bandwidth which is crucial for good quality video transmission via cloud. Turning off applications also help in not getting your mobile device hung up during an important business collaboration.

6. Always do a dry run with someone like your friend or a colleague to ensure that everything is working well. It is disappointing to find out that some component is not working while the video call is on, and time is wasted with people waiting for you to rectify the issue.

7. Be very mindful of the mute key on your smart mobile device. You should only unmute your device during a mobile video conference when you want to say something. This helps avoid unnecessary background noise of the place you are in to distract the other participants. Sometimes, you are out in a café or an airport or any other public place where there is music, traffic noise, and noise of the crowd that you don’t want to reach to your colleagues on the video call. And the mute key is the safest way to undertake a mobile video conference from anywhere without worrying about the sound.

8. Always look into the eyes of the other participants on the video conference. The best way to do it to look into the camera. While it’s easier said than done, as our eyes prefer looking at the video of the people talking than into the camera, it’s advised that you drag the video window on the top of your screen, just under the camera. In this way, you will not appear looking down or in any other direction on others’ screens.

Don’ts

1. Don’t interrupt others on a call. Listen attentively and if you have to interrupt or say something, raise your hand and let the speaker stop first to allow you. Also, be gentle, patient and polite if you don’t agree with others, or if there is some technical issue disrupting the audio or video broadcast. Try your best to make the virtual environment of collaboration pleasant and productive for yourself and other participants.

2. Avoid wearing clothes with patterns and dark, shiny colors. Equally avoid bright solid colours like green, red, purple, etc. Any king of bright and very visible accessory like jewelry also distracts during the video conferencing. Prefer wearing soft colors in plain.

3. Don’t forget to check the battery back-up or any other power back-up that may be required during the call. Ensure that your device is fully charged and the place you are in, if a room doesn’t go dark suddenly. Don’t keep the background applications running in your device as they may interfere with your call, besides consuming the battery.

4. Don’t use speakerphone on a video conference. Always prefer to use headphones or a headset with a microphone. That will enhance the audio quality you hear and will also capture your voice clearly for others to hear. Also ensure that there is no echo in the place you are joining the video call from.

5. Don’t appear casual in body language or your dressing when appearing for a video call. You should prepare for a mobile video conference with the same professionalism you show for a face-to-face meeting. Your body language should be composed, alert and attentive.

Taking care of these basic points will surely enhance your mobile video conferencing experience and would help you appear professional and prepared to others joining the call from different locations.

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I am Richa, a professional blogger, web and graphic designer. I am founder of wirelessrouterprinter.com, webtechland.com and knowyourlifestyle.com. I have created these sites to provide information about different and important aspects of today's life. From my websites you can get any kind of information related to Wireless, Technology and Lifestyle.

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